James Carragher just made his debut for Malta in international football, playing against Finland and Poland, thanks to his family’s Maltese ancestry, especially that of his great-grandfather. However, what was the 22-year-old’s performance?
A true Liverpool legend, his father Jamie Carragher is currently most renowned in the punditry world for his made-for-consumption character. Carragher senior played for England from April 1999 to June 2010 during his playing career.
Carragher was occasionally used by several Three Lions managers during that 11-year span, but his son, who is presently playing for Wigan Athletic in England’s third division, has chosen Malta over his father.
The Maltese Football Association (MFA) contacted the versatile defender many months ago with a pitch that was unquestionably a “no-brainer,” and the former League One winner was awarded citizenship in February 2025.
The Beginning of Carragher’s Career with the Malta National Team
The child played 180 minutes in two games.
James was so scheduled to play for Keith Fenech and his team in their two 2026 World Cup qualifying matches, and his father took a break from his commentary work to go, watching with pride.
The young defender played eighteen minutes in both games. He had an excellent 94% pass success rate (85/90) and a Malta-best 98 touches during his debut match against Finland, demonstrating his abundance of possession.
More impressively, he didn’t keep his ball-playing basic at all. The young player completed 12 of his 16 long balls, and his 66% success rate in the air and six clearances show that he was also a strong defensive player.
Despite playing less versus Poland, Carragher was still able to record another 90-minute performance on the international scene. He had 45 ball touches and an 83% (33/40) pass success rate, with 11 of those being categorised as “long balls.”
It’s fair to say that Carragher’s presence was felt even though Malta began their 2026 World Cup qualification campaign with two losses. However, the defender’s thoughts were on playing Barcelona and Robert Lewandowski, the former star of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
According to The Times, he stated, “I was pretty disappointed that he wasn’t starting, but when I realised that he was coming on, at least I could say that I played against him.” I simply intended to put myself to the test against him, Evern, in case he managed to go past me or defeat me.”
Career Statistics for James Carragher
Club
Games
Objectives
Helps
Red/Yellow Cards
Wigan Sports
36
One
2.
7/0
Caledonian Thistle FC in Inverness
20
0
2.
5/0
Oldham Sports
5.
0
0
2/0
Wigan Athletic U18
4.
0
0
0/0
Malta
2.
0
0
0/0
After analysing the Polish talisman’s strategy of dropping deep to receive the ball and staying in the six-yard box whenever possible, Carragher maintained that he performed admirably against one of the top scorers in the world of football.
His tough remained in place since he kept missing it, and he was always in the box attempting to score. Although he didn’t really bother me at the back, he has been among the top scorers of the past ten to fifteen years.
Carragher made care to obtain the shirt of his opposite number. Additionally, it was a good thing that I received a shirt following the game. With roughly two minutes remaining, we were down to ten men. I saw him approaching me and asked, “Can I have your shirt?”
I waited inside after he stated, “We’ll do it inside.” I moved in front of all seven or eight players who were waiting. Some of the boys weren’t pleased! I will be able to reflect on it in years to come. He had his from the second game, and I had mine from the first. I will frame it.
